Strong 4th Quarter Lifts Watchung Hills Mens Hoops

A win is a win. 

That was the mantra of the Watchung Hills basketball team after it defeated Oratory 66-57 on Thursday night, in a game in which the team simply found a way to win.

“That’s what I just told them in there [grinding it out]," said Warriors head coach Justin Salton. "That was a claw and grind it out win. That’s the best way to describe it. We battled, we gave them every opportunity to win, and it was like we didn’t want to win the game. That’s just old fashioned, keep fighting until the end.”

A back-and-forth game for three quarters saw Watchung (6-17) trail 47-45 with a quarter remaining. But the Warriors seized the moment at home, going on a 21-10 run to end the fourth quarter to pick the victory over Oratory (13-12).  Despite having ups and downs all year in the free throw shooting department, the Warriors took advantage in the final stanza, as they knocked down 11 of their 12 freebies. 

“It was what we needed to seal the victory,” said shooting guard Steve Weidlich, who hit all six of his free throws in the final quarter, going off for 10 total points in the quarter. “It came down to a few points. If we miss some, they have the chance to steal the win from us. We had to knock those down, we did, and we came through with the win.”

“Steve shot a lot of those, so I wasn’t surprised," Salton said. "He's about 90 percent on the year now. It was huge. Free throws win close games. You don’t knock down those free throws, it’s a different story, especially in a game like that.”

In that fourth quarter, the Warriors got it done from the field before they did the same at the charity stripe. Over the first six minutes of play, the Warriors converted five field goals to Oratory’s one. Over that time, Mike Lee and Weidlich had several layups while junior forward Billy Pinho scored a layup as well as two free throws.  This put the Warriors up 57-49 with 2:15 left in the game. 

Oratory cranked up the defensive pressure on Watchung, closing to within three with under two minutes left, but that’s as close as they would come, as the Warriors made nine free throws in the final 1:14 to seal the deal.

“We just started passing the ball more," said junior Clayton O’Brien, who along with Weidlich, led the team with 17 points. "We were spreading out. They were trying to trap us because they couldn’t get the ball. They had to foul and Weidlich made all his shots. That helped out a lot.”

“We just needed a few stops, so they couldn’t press us,” Weidlich said. “But once we moved the ball through and took care of the ball, we were able to seal the victory.”

The Warriors led after the first and second quarters 16-15 and 32-28, respectively.  The Warriors had trouble with Oratory’s transition offense in the third, giving up 19 points and falling behind 47-45 before their strong fourth quarter effort.

A loud celebration inside the Warriors locker room ensued minutes after the final buzzer went off. Salton said while it’s been a tough year, any win really means a lot to his 2010-11 team.

“It’s awesome, he said. "Anytime you get a win, especially the teams we play … Oratory is a good team, it’s special. We have a really tough schedule. It’s great to see the kids smiling and enjoying the win. Hopefully we get a lot more next year.”

While everyone enjoyed the win, it didn’t take long for Weidlich and O’Brien to admit that there’s a lot more work to do, especially with the State tournament looming.

“Its great to end the losing streak, but we have to come in tomorrow and be ready for Saturday and keep moving forward,” Weidlich said.

“It feels really good but we have to get to the gym tomorrow and put a lot of effort in. We’re looking to improve,” O’Brien said.

Also on the scoresheet for the Warriors, Mike Lee added eight points while Greg Stone chipped in with seven.  Both Billy Pinho and Joe Argiro netted sixe, while Brandon Spiller had five.

Next up for Watchung is Somerville at home on Saturday at 1 p.m., before it travels to take on Columbia on Monday at 7 p.m. for the opening round of the State tournament.